John 8:58
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
John 8:58 in other translations
| BSB | “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!” |
|---|---|
| WEB | Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.” |
| ASV | Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am. |
| YLT | Jesus said to them, ‘Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham's coming--I am;' |
| DARBY | Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. |
| BBE | Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, Before Abraham came into being, I am. |
| Webster | Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. |
What does John 8:58 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 8:57-59
57-59. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old--"No inference can be drawn from this as to the age of our Lord at the time as man. Fifty years was with the Jews the completion of manhood" [Alford]. and hast thou seen Abraham?--He had said Abraham saw Him, as being his peculiar privilege. They give the opposite turn to it--"Hast Thou seen Abraham?" as an honor too great for Him to pretend to.
Barnes' Notes
Before Abraham was. Before Abraham lived.
I am. The expression I am, though in the present tense, is clearly designed to refer to a past time. Thus, in Ps 90:2, "From everlasting to everlasting thou art God." Applied to God, it denotes continued existence without respect to time, so far as he is concerned. We divide time into the past, the present, and the future. The expression, applied to God, denotes that he does not measure his existence in this manner, but that the word by which we express the present denotes his continued and unchanging existence. Hence he assumes it as his name, "I AM," and "I AM THAT I AM," Ex 3:14. Comp. Isa 44:6, 47:8. There is a remarkable similarity between the expression employed by Jesus in this place and that used in Exodus to denote the name of God. The manner in which Jesus used it would strikingly suggest the application of the same language to God. The question here was about his pre-existence. The objection of the Jews was that he was not fifty years old, and could not, therefore, have seen Abraham. Jesus replied to that that he existed before Abraham. As in his human nature he was not yet fifty years old, and could not, as a man, have existed before Abraham, this declaration must be referred to another nature; and the passage proves that, while he was a man, he was also endowed with another nature existing before Abraham, and to which he applied the term (familiar to the Jews as expressive of the existence of God) I AM; and this declaration corresponds to the affirmation of John (Jn 1:1), that he was in the beginning with God, and was God. This affirmation of Jesus is one of the proofs on which John relies to prove that he was the Messiah (Jn 20:31), to establish which was the design of writing this book.
(b) "I am" Ex 3:14, Is 43:13, Jn 1:1,2, Col 1:17, Rev 1:8
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 8:54-59
Christ and all that are his, depend upon God for honour. Men may be able to dispute about God, yet may not know him. Such as know not God, and obey not the gospel of Christ, are put together, 2Th 1:8. All who rightly know anything of Christ, earnestly desire to know more of him. Those who discern the dawn of the light of the Sun of Righteousness, wish to see his rising. "Before Abraham was, I AM." This speaks…
John 8:58 in the original Greek
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for John 8:58
- Exodus 3:14
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
- Colossians 1:17
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
- John 17:5
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
- John 1:1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
- Isaiah 44:6
Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
- John 17:24
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
- Revelation 1:8
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
- Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
- Isaiah 48:12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
- Revelation 2:8
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
- Hebrews 1:10-12
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
34,51
Before.
1:1,2; 17:5,24; Pr 8:22-30; Isa 9:6; Mic 5:2; Col 1:17; Heb 1:10-12
Heb 13:8; Re 1:11,17,18; 2:8
I am.That our Lord by this expression asserted his divinity and eternal existence, as the great I AM, appears evident from the use of the present tense, instead of the past tense, from its being in answer to the Jews, who enquired whether he had seen Abraham, and from its being thus understood by the multitude, who were exasperated at it to such a degree that they took up stones to stone him. The ancient Jews not only believed that the Messiah was superior to and Lord of all the patriarchs, and even of angels, but that his celestial nature existed with God from whom it emanated, before the creation, and that the creation was effected by his ministry.
Ex 3:14; Isa 43:13; 44:6,8; 46:9; 48:12; Re 1:8
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- John 8:57
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
- John 8:58
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
- John 8:59
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
John 8:58 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Díjoles Jesús: De cierto, de cierto os digo: Antes que Abraham fuese, yo soy. |
|---|---|
| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Jésus leur dit: En vérité, en vérité, je vous dis: Avant qu’Abraham fût, je suis. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Jesus sprach zu ihnen: Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch: Ehe Abraham ward, bin ich. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Dixit eis Jesus: Amen, amen dico vobis, antequam Abraham fieret, ego sum. |